tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90448366444927880242019-04-15T01:49:23.296-07:00When You Never Expect TwoRenelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.comBlogger146125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-55965015835704124742015-10-21T01:12:00.000-07:002015-10-21T01:12:07.703-07:00Encouraging Children to Make Better Choices I had been following Doctor's Becky A.Bailey's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConsciousDiscipline?fref=nf">Conscious Discipline</a>&nbsp;on Facebook since reading her book, <i><a href="http://whenyouneverexpecttwo.blogspot.sg/2015/10/book-club-easy-to-love-difficult-to.html">Easy to Love, Difiicult to Discipline.</a>&nbsp;</i><br /><br />Today, they posted below on their Facebook page. What a timely reminder. I need to remind myself to encourage my children. I'm guilty of having a sharp tongue and using it on the boys. This morning, I got cranky myself while coaching them.<br /><i><span style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></i><div style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Encouraging Children Who Have Made Poor Choices</span></i></div><div style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">We all make inappropriate choices. The last thing we need is a lecture. Focus on encouraging children to solve their own problems. Some examples include:</span></i></div><div style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;"><span class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_fb6824" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yp/r/aeO1ik7i7-T.png); background-position: 0px -3876px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">💙</u></span>&nbsp;You almost did it. You were so close. Try again. You just need some practice.&nbsp;</span></i></div><div class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 6px;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;"><span class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_fb6824" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yp/r/aeO1ik7i7-T.png); background-position: 0px -3876px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">💙</u></span>&nbsp;I am confidant you will think of another way to handle this.</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;"><span class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_fb6824" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yp/r/aeO1ik7i7-T.png); background-position: 0px -3876px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">💙</u></span>&nbsp;You'll figure out a way to be helpful. I know you. Inside, you don't like to be hurtful.</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;"><span class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_fb6824" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yp/r/aeO1ik7i7-T.png); background-position: 0px -3876px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">💙</u></span>&nbsp;That's a rough spot you are in, but I know you can work it out. Let me know if you need help.&nbsp;</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;"><span class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_fb6824" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yp/r/aeO1ik7i7-T.png); background-position: 0px -3876px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">💙</u></span>&nbsp;Oops! We all make mistakes. What could you do now that would be helpful?</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;"><span class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_fb6824" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yp/r/aeO1ik7i7-T.png); background-position: 0px -3876px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">💙</u></span>&nbsp;You can do it.</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">As always, we wish you well!<br />iHeartCD</span></i><span style="color: #141823;">&nbsp;</span><i class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_fb6824" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yp/r/aeO1ik7i7-T.png); background-position: 0px -3876px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; color: #141823; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">💙</u><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;"><br /></u><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">eyefffff</u><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;"><br /></u><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;"><br /></u><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;"><br /></u><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">ffff</u></i></div></div>Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-55650105841779276852015-10-15T23:27:00.001-07:002015-10-15T23:27:22.566-07:00Upgraded Haze Mask<div dir="ltr">I saw the boys giggling while doodling on their magazine. I have no idea what air plus they are talking about.&nbsp; Upon a closer look, I saw that they upgraded the haze mask to "<a href="http://www.airplus.sg/products.html#AIR">air plus</a>" for their magazine character. Air plus is the brand name for the mask I got them during this haze. I didn't even take notice of that. Kids are more observant than adults.&nbsp;</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">I guess this is the result of successful marketing?</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ghB9dHbdMK0/Vh4ZwP2eYBI/AAAAAAAAByc/GueFDYEjfPY/s1600/IMG_20151013_094739_wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ghB9dHbdMK0/Vh4ZwP2eYBI/AAAAAAAAByc/GueFDYEjfPY/s640/IMG_20151013_094739_wm.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-21926089166481471132015-10-14T01:02:00.000-07:002015-10-14T01:02:05.973-07:00Book Club Thoughts and Review - Internal Drive Theory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ieB6AcdLL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ieB6AcdLL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></div><br /><br />My 2 boys had very different character when it comes to work. I have K who is unmotivated but completes his work just because he has to. I have Y who is quite competitive and wants to do well for his exams. He comes home with things he doesn't understand from school and bug me to go through certain work with him. This scenario is totally different from what I had envisioned 2 years back. K was a diligent boy who has a hunger for learning. Y was the lazy boy who swims on the floor, doing everything he can just not sitting down to do more serious work aka worksheets. We seldom do worksheets during their preschool days but when we do, it was a struggle with Y. I thought to myself then that this boy is going to have problem in primary school and I was so wrong.<br /><br />The first term of Primary 1 went well with both boys enjoying school and they were very enthusiastic to learn. They did pretty well. But I noticed a change in K's attitude in Term 2. And completing his school work started to be a chore and any revision ended up in a fight with me. It had been about 6 months and his attitude didn't quite got back to how he was before. I wonder to myself what is causing this lack of motivation and the will to succeed. Then I saw this book in the library few days back, <i>Internal Drive Theory - Motivate Your Child To Want To Study</i>. I finds this book to be quite in line with my way of parenting, in a local setting.<br /><br />The first chapter begins with the author trying to convince readers that internal drive for school work can be developed. I totally agree. It went on to give examples of how she managed to drive the kids while their parent can't. However, I believe that the parents are not wrong to say that their kids generally behave better with another person other than themselves. K has been a well behaved boy in teacher's eyes. Or at least, that's the comments I got from his teachers. However, he behaves differently with me. I have no problems with other children. Other than attributing the problem to the adult caring for the child, we should also look at the relationship between the person and the child. There is a reason why so many teachers pay other teachers to teach their child when they are so good with other children.<br /><br />This book provided some insights and reminder as to how I should coach my boys with their work.<br /><br /><br /><ul><li><i><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Attitude and Patience on the parent part.</span></b></i></li></ul>I have to admit that I'm not very patient to my own kids. I guess it has to do with the relationship and expectations. I'm working on this one, especially with my younger boy. His character and mine clashed a bit and he is an expert at pushing my buttons. &nbsp;<br /><ul></ul><br /><b style="color: #0b5394;"><ul><li><b><i>Choose their work carefully and make sure they know the topic before attempting.</i></b></li></ul></b>I made the mistake sometimes to just give them an assessment book and say, "3 pages" or "1 exercise" without looking into the work and see the suitability and if they know what to do. I expected them to know and to figure it out on their own if it's new. A little challenge will do fine but some kids may be turned off by something totally new and it will be an attack to their confidence level. I usually have different reactions, 1 will gladly take the challenge and the other will be fearful of making mistakes by attempting something new to him.<br /><br /><b style="color: #0b5394;"></b><br /><ul><li><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Regular feedback.</span></i></b></li></ul>With 2 kids, I sometimes assign work to one and he is expected to complete them without coming to me while I coach the other kid. It often ended up with scoldings as they couldn't complete them without coming to me like <strike>1 million</strike>&nbsp;10 times in a span of 30 mins. I ended up getting frustrated with them and nothing is accomplished and that made me felt worse. I should have assigned feedback time &nbsp;and expect some interruptions from time to time as I helped him through completing longer periods of independently work. &nbsp;&nbsp;<div><br /></div><div>Overall, this is a good read for parents with children in primary school.&nbsp;</div>Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-50472633436850785282015-10-01T23:05:00.000-07:002015-10-01T23:05:00.304-07:00Book Club - Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_574434354"></span><span id="goog_574434355"></span><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lhSbzjEWiGY/Vgt4l0BYngI/AAAAAAAAByE/8ckW7n2fyPA/s640/easylove_detailed.jpg" width="418" /></div><br />I've read many parenting books and this is one book that has made the greatest impact on me as a parent. I used to think my sons had a problem with the frequent meltdowns. Well, they do. Their sensitive traits often create problems for me as their mother. But this book made me looked at myself. I realised I was highly stressed during their first five years. It was physical taxing to care for them for at least for the first three years. I had problems with my own self control. I snapped easily, probably due to the lack of sleep and fatigue. I had no energy left to discipline them and to look at each misbehavior as a teaching moment. When I can't compose myself to look at their whining objectively, their whining gets worse. It's a vicious cycle. It would not be wrong to say half of their meltdowns could be prevented if I had the energy and the composure to help them through. But I'm only human, I could possibly look at the first meltdown as a teachable moment, the 2nd of the day as another and just how many can one bear when the child treated you as their <strike>sandbag </strike>source of comfort. Anyway, things did get better. At 6 years old, they have learnt to have more self control and the meltdowns are almost gone. They are still learning to cope with stress from school. They still get anxiety meltdowns but we manage better now. <br /><br />This is a great book. It's not only a book about parenting. Discipline starts with looking at yourself, your behaviour before your child's behaviour. &nbsp;<br /><br />&nbsp; Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-45213995355359001762015-09-29T22:49:00.000-07:002015-09-29T23:12:04.958-07:00Old School Games - Animal Chess<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kX_LS8jKEQE/Vgq8QVISh5I/AAAAAAAABxk/SaAwDq6Y_Uw/s1600/20150929_101344_wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kX_LS8jKEQE/Vgq8QVISh5I/AAAAAAAABxk/SaAwDq6Y_Uw/s640/20150929_101344_wm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />SG50 theme this year had us reminiscing many old school games. I think one forgotten game is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_(board_game)">Dou Shou Qi</a>. We only thought about this game when we wanted to introduce the Chinese chess to the boys. We went around many shops but we didn't have any luck. Y suggested going to the school bookshop to ask. It was a great idea. He got this at $1.<br /><br />The kids had fun playing with it. This makes a great family game and it is simple enough for the kids to play on their own. The kids learnt how to strategize their moves and the consequences of each move. &nbsp; <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AKtxoLrTORI/Vgq8bIypBVI/AAAAAAAABxs/x3by_whm8IA/s1600/20150929_101354_wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AKtxoLrTORI/Vgq8bIypBVI/AAAAAAAABxs/x3by_whm8IA/s640/20150929_101354_wm.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9nVFA9Eaf40/Vgq8in2ztJI/AAAAAAAABx0/db04A41SnL4/s1600/doushouqi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9nVFA9Eaf40/Vgq8in2ztJI/AAAAAAAABx0/db04A41SnL4/s640/doushouqi.jpg" /> </a> </div>Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-44211647369613459412015-09-29T02:22:00.001-07:002015-09-29T05:55:37.123-07:00Literature Study - Pippi LongstockingWe started reading <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pippi_Longstocking">Pippi Longstocking</a>&nbsp;with the boys and I enjoy the book very much. The boys had different views about the book. Y can't stop laughing at the funny things Pippi does and K doesn't like her unusual behaviour. We did 2 activities this week.<br /><br /><b><u>Activity 1 - Illustrate Pippi</u></b><br /><b><u><br /></u></b>I love how the author described Pippi's physical appearance.<br /><h2><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">"</span><span style="font-size: small;">Her hair, the color of a&nbsp;carrot, was braided in two tight braids that stuck straight out. Her nose was the shape of a very small potato and was dotted all over with&nbsp;freckles. It must be admitted that the mouth under this nose was a very wide one, with strong white teeth. Her dress was rather unusual. Pippi herself had made it. She had meant it to be&nbsp;blue, but there wasn't quite enough blue cloth, so Pippi had sewed little red pieces on it here and there. On her long thin legs she wore a pair of long&nbsp;stockings, one brown and the other black, and she had on a pair of black shoes that were exactly twice as long as her feet. These shoes her father had bought for her in&nbsp;South America&nbsp;so that Pippi would have something to grow into, and she never wanted to wear any others.</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">"</span></span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;</span></span></span></i></h2><div>They didn't see any other illiustrations of Pippi and I asked the boys to draw their own version of Pippi with the description. I drew my version too and this is what we had.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lkXs5EV2mkA/VgpVFjBcMVI/AAAAAAAABxI/BGv42iUUkao/s1600/20150928_111146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lkXs5EV2mkA/VgpVFjBcMVI/AAAAAAAABxI/BGv42iUUkao/s640/20150928_111146.jpg" /></a></div><br /></div><div>I liked how this activity shows how differently one can illustrate with a same description.&nbsp;</div><div><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b><u>Activity 2 - Create your own character. Illustrate and describe.</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Further to this, I wanted them to create their own character. They can choose to draw or describe first. I wanted it to be a person but the boys are very into fantasy books now and K did this. For a start, he is just using colors to describe the features of his character. I will be introducing some new adjectives to him that he can use for his character features.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oEcSL3DJTOs/VgpXom-sUGI/AAAAAAAABxU/N-zazxVVdPo/s1600/DSC_9652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oEcSL3DJTOs/VgpXom-sUGI/AAAAAAAABxU/N-zazxVVdPo/s640/DSC_9652.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He was inspired by <a href="http://www.seaquestbooks.co.uk/">Beast Quest </a>to do his character fact card. (check out my pretty <a href="http://whenyouneverexpecttwo.blogspot.sg/2015/09/japanese-paper-doll-with-kids.html">Japanese paper doll</a> magnet at the side... hehe)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We will be continuing with more literature study activities as we continue reading the book together.</div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-11849006614512242522015-09-28T05:37:00.000-07:002015-10-14T00:42:17.708-07:00Learning Multiplication <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rirAzZY0hCU/VgkNXoB6YKI/AAAAAAAABwU/_-foThIllIM/s1600/DSC_9640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rirAzZY0hCU/VgkNXoB6YKI/AAAAAAAABwU/_-foThIllIM/s640/DSC_9640.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />It's the start of Term 4 and I know the school will be covering the topic of Multiplication soon. The boys had grasped the concept of Multiplication during preschool but I never made them memorise the times table. I don't see the point of making them memorise so early when there's no need for them to use it at preschool level. They could do simple 2 -3 times tables though. And I had been going through the times tables every now and then but it was never a priority.<br /><br />Y came home one day very grouchy and cranky. I later found out it could be because he brought home the syllabus and test schedules for Term 4 and he was feeling stressed out. He told me he is going to fail the test for sure as his teacher told the class that she won't be going teaching the times table and they should all know it by now.<br /><br />I comforted him and told him that he knows the table from 1-5 though not very well. He just need to work on memorising some of them. And I will be helping them with times table 6-9. He felt so stressed up as he felt inadequate that he doesn't know something that all should know. And some of his friends who attended Math enrichment classes all knew by heart.<br /><br />**edited on 6 Oct to add.<br /><div>I went through his worksheets on multiplication done in school and they were just very simple multiplication concepts! All the drama for nothing. This is my kiasu kiasi boy... lol... He got his diagnostic test result home yesterday and was bragging over how easy multiplication topic is. haha. From this incident, I realized he needs more confidence in tackling new topics in school. Something to think about as I don't prep the boys for school syllabus. I expect them to learn in school and I will help them along. But they told me they want me to teach them first so they can raise up their hands to answer questions in class. Hmm.. **<br /><div><br />Anyway, to help him gain some confidence, we continued our multiplication learning activities.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bc_nop8TGyo/VgkQwhDuEkI/AAAAAAAABwg/FDcVlytL7XY/s1600/DSC_9649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bc_nop8TGyo/VgkQwhDuEkI/AAAAAAAABwg/FDcVlytL7XY/s640/DSC_9649.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br />I used a few resources for our learning activities:<br /><br /><b>- Multiplication Chart&nbsp;</b><br />They skip count and list out the times table, making their own chart.<br /><br />- <b>Times Table Worksheet</b><br />I printed the 6 times table worksheet from <a href="http://worksheetfun.com/">worksheetfun.com</a>. It helped to do the times table worksheet in sequence first.<br /><br /><b>- 6 Times Table Chart</b><br />I cut pieces of paper for them to do their own flip board for the 6 times table. I had a very happy boy here doing his own lift the flaps.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FTg3O6bI0uo/VgkSumNGqkI/AAAAAAAABw4/yPf66RfUU_Q/s1600/20150928-0912381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FTg3O6bI0uo/VgkSumNGqkI/AAAAAAAABw4/yPf66RfUU_Q/s640/20150928-0912381.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />- <b>6 Times Table Snake</b><br />Fold a paper strip to let them write the 6 times table on it.<br /><br />- <b>Bingo Game</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This was the highlight of the whole session. I randomly wrote some numbers from the 6 times table on a paper. They started with 1 dice. A player roll a dice and multiply the number on the dice by 6. They will circle the answer and try to form a row. A horizontal line earns them 1 point and a vertical (longer) line earns them 2 points. After a few rounds, we added another dice. The add the number of the 2 dices together to multiply by 6. I would say they picked up the 6 times table quite well with this game. It was effortless remembering at work. They even did division unknowingly, trying to see figure out what number they need to get to form a row.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-txmny3NO2u0/VgkR7dpGGZI/AAAAAAAABwo/jE0B7EKHFjU/s1600/20150928-0912382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-txmny3NO2u0/VgkR7dpGGZI/AAAAAAAABwo/jE0B7EKHFjU/s640/20150928-0912382.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br />It was a fruitful session and we are continuing our multiplication learning with 7, 8 and 9.<br /><br /></div></div>Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-43233486948313849212015-09-28T02:37:00.001-07:002015-09-28T02:40:32.434-07:00Japanese Paper Doll with Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QMx99bnoFd4/VgkJKiO6LDI/AAAAAAAABvo/hd-6AjV_v94/s1600/DSC_9616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QMx99bnoFd4/VgkJKiO6LDI/AAAAAAAABvo/hd-6AjV_v94/s640/DSC_9616.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />I found a pack of pretty Japanese paper from Daiso while I was spring cleaning the boys' study room. Through this spring cleaning, I realised they have lots of construction paper, origami paper, coloured paper of all sorts that is more than enough to last them a lifetime. I'm the guilty one, of course. I often can't resist purchasing craft supplies and thought we should always keep a good supply for our crafts. However, I didn't know the daily crafts and activities we used to do is not possible once they enter formal school. The mornings before school were spent on school related work and revision. Any time that's left is their precious free time. I'm usually beat after I go through their work with them too.<br /><br />Rewind... back to the Japanese paper. I don't know what to do with these beautiful paper and googled for "Japanese Paper Craft". Images of pretty Japanese paper dolls were all over the screen. I wasn't sure if my boys will be interested to do that with me as they are at this "Eeee... it's so girl girl..." stage. So, I decided to give it a try myself. To my surprise, the boys were excited to see the paper and wanted to have a part.<br /><br />I found a few website that gives a good tutorial and I followed the one on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.omiyageblogs.ca/2010/08/dozen-dollies.html">Omiyage</a>. Being bad at following instructions, I didn't cut out the measurements as indicated in the tutorial. I just estimated the size and thickness and went with what I thought is ok. And it was easy!<br /><br />The boys chose the paper they want to use for the collar, the dress, the band, etc. They were the designer while I'm the "seamstress", doing the cutting and folding. We have one thing in common, we love pretty clothes.<br /><br />We came to the head part and though most of the pictures we saw had no facial features, they wanted to draw. Y even wanted to draw the hair. So these are the 2 versions. I was laughing at K's potato nose (we started reading Pippi Longstocking.. lol) on his doll. Y wanted it to be a puppet and we attached a straw behind it and they had fun playing with it. I agree with them that it's nicer to have facial features and made another 2 myself.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kSoHUF94_Ew/VgkKQZVwVSI/AAAAAAAABv4/pHFGZSlXnok/s1600/DSC_9625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kSoHUF94_Ew/VgkKQZVwVSI/AAAAAAAABv4/pHFGZSlXnok/s640/DSC_9625.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Here's some basic steps to making your own Japanese paper doll. There are lots of detailed tutorial online like the one at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.omiyageblogs.ca/2010/08/dozen-dollies.html">Omiyage</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r9Mmnu7fpFk/VgkJUFSxynI/AAAAAAAABvw/IMrzJGAaeQ0/s1600/20150928-091238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r9Mmnu7fpFk/VgkJUFSxynI/AAAAAAAABvw/IMrzJGAaeQ0/s640/20150928-091238.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br />I really liked how these dolls turn out. And I liked that my boys love them too. They can be bookmarks, stick a magnet piece to the back and turn it into a magnet or attach a stick or straw like my boys to have a puppet. I think they make great gifts too.<br /><br />Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-58601249648449221942015-07-18T05:28:00.000-07:002015-07-18T05:33:06.750-07:00We Should Stop Teaching Our Children to Say "Sorry"I made a decision to stop telling my children to apologize anymore. This decision arose from 2 incidents that happened the past 6 months.<br /><div><br /></div><div>The most recent incident happened a month ago.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Incident (1)</b></div><div>My son was a victim of a bicycle accident. He was walking on the pedestrian pavement when a boy came dashing right into his back. We wanted to let the boy's parents know about the dangerous act. The boy was riding very fast. The grandmother (not the old auntie that you are imagining. She was young for a grandmother and conversed well in English) came over and asked the boy, <b><i>"did you say sorry?"</i></b> The boy answered yes and the grandmother spoke indifferently to us, "he said sorry already...". Well, it turned into an ugly episode when she started blaming my son for not moving away when his grandson rang the bell. And she even told her grandson, "Don't worry, it's ok. You did nothing wrong." Well, does a driver has a right to knock a pedestrian down because he had sounded his horn? And in this case, the pedestrian didn't hear the horn? A young child doesn't understand this maybe but what about an adult? &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>I digress. I'm not going to discuss about the safety issue here. The right and wrong in this incident is not even debatable at all. The point that I'm driving is, is the word "sorry" so important after you hurt someone? Shouldn't the well being of the person that was hurt the first to come to mind? That kid never knows what he did wrong and what he should have done. All he knows is, whatever I've done, it's ok so long I've said "sorry". &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Incident (2)</b></div><div>I was in the queue with my son waiting for his turn to wash his brushes after a calligraphy class when the boy in front of him sprayed black ink all over his face and clothes. My son lost his cool and shouted "How dare you?!" Though I can understand the frustration of being sprayed ink all over, shouting back at the boy was inappropriate and I reprimanded him. I apologised to the kid on my son's behalf and explained that my boy was too upset. What I didn't expect was, the boy went crying to his mother and accused my son of threatening to beat him up! His mother confronted us. I explained the situation to her and the first thing she asked was "did my son say sorry?". Her son didn't and I wasn't even interested in an apology. Is the apology so important? How about the child who had ink all over his face and clothes? The child that I had a hard time cleaning up? The child that was so upset that the ink may never be washed off his favourite t-shirt? Anyway, the mother was only concerned of her own son. After she knew he didn't apologise, she brushed it off and said that he is only a child. I totally understand that it may be an accident (which I'm not too sure now as it happened again the next day) and that was why I didn't even pursue the matter. She just continued to complain how my son had scared her son. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>From the above 2 incidents, I noticed that today's parenting and discipline stops at "SORRY". Whatever you do wrong, you MUST say SORRY. Any misdeeds stops at SORRY. You are ok so long you have said your SORRY. But sorry, "sorry... no cure". That's what we used to say to our friends when we were a child ourselves. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>When a child's action cause hurt to others, saying sorry isn't helpful. An apology doesn't wash off all the responsibility from them. In my opinion, the hurt child's well being should come first.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>"Are you alright?"</div><div>"Is there anything I can do to help to make you feel better?"&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Forget about the "sorry", &nbsp;teach the child to ask themselves what they have done to another kid. How would they feel if they were hurt. Look at his/her face, is he/she alright? How can they help? Young children does not know how to react, so we, as parents, should teach them empathy. If we can show our concern to the hurt child, our children will learn. At the same time, we should stop being overly defensive and protective of our own children and disregard other people's children. Bear in mind that it can happen to your own children as well. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>We should stop teaching our children to say "sorry" and as a result, teaching them to use it to escape from the situation instead of being responsible for their actions.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>We should also stop using the excuse "children are too young to understand". They may not understand but we, as adults, should know better. We should model the right behaviour to our children so they can follow. Treat other people's children like how you want your children to be treated by others.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>So, my dear fellow parents, let's forget about saying "sorry" and rethink how we can teach our kids to be responsible for their actions, to empathise with others and to treat others with respect. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div></div>Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-53308676174756756822014-11-20T21:52:00.000-08:002015-03-15T00:29:08.600-07:001 Year AbsenceWow... I didn't realize I haven't blog for a year long! 2014 marks a big change for the family as I embarked on a full time job early this year. It was hard to juggle between work and family. It's actually mission impossible to balance both. You either fail at both or you can only concentrate on one and let the other just float on.<br /><br />The children can never recieve the same amount of care and attention with a working mum. I lost many precious moments and time with them while I'm out working and many times, I wonder if it's even worth it. Here are some very precious moments that we lost that I felt was very important. <br /><br /><i><u>The Morning Greetings</u></i><br />With my new work, I have to be up before dawn and I don't get to wake the children or see them when they get up in the morning. I felt quite unsettled for the first month. It was only much later that I got to know that the kids were very affected that they don't get to see me in the morning. When asked how he felt when he wakes up in the morning, Y answered his teacher, "My mummy is not there." My heart broke when his teacher shared this with me. I then made arrangements so that I can still go home to see the children before they go off for school. I'm lucky that the work place is just 5 mins away and I can make arrangements for someone to take over while I steal some time to go home. My husband also made arrangements to go to work later so he can have breakfast with the children before leaving for work. These arrangements take a lot of effort to make. But I think it's really important that we are with them. The morning sets the mood for the whole day. With the parents around to greet them and prepare them for the day ahead, the children will feel more secure to handle the day.<br /><br /><i><u>The Journey to and fro School&nbsp;</u></i><br />I missed the walk to school with them in the morning. There were mad mornings but the morning walks with them were very enjoyable as they get older. They could handle the walk with no complaints and they would talk so much about things they are going to school and what they have planned to do for the day. Sometimes they totally excluded me from their conversation but I get to know so much from them. I used to cycle together with them to school and their happy faces on their bike melt my heart.<br /><br />After not sending them to school for a few months, I find myself so out of touch with the happenings in school. I think it's also quite important for us to send them to school. We get to see the teachers, meet the other parents so we will know what's going on in school.<br /><br /><i><u>Our Weekend Outings</u></i><br />I used to look forward to the weekends for our weekly outings. But since I've started work full time, I'm exhausted by the end of the week and I find it so hard to go to parks with them. For many months, we have joined the malls like many Singaporeans parents do. I finally understand how many city kids could hate the parks and would opt for a air conditioned mall anytime. It's too convenient and comfortable. Bye to sunscreens, wet shirts, sticky bodies, hi to air conditioning, toy stores, restaurant. <br /><br />These are the things that matters to me and I'm glad that after settling into my new work, I managed to get them back on track. I try to send them to school these days and we try to have at least 1 outdoor outing each month. I was concentrating too much on my new work the first half of the year and now the work is more stable, my attention goes back to them. One thing I know is that I will still choose to be a stay home mum if I have to choose between one, our family's priority will still be them.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-90103916354608314552013-10-16T07:49:00.000-07:002013-10-16T08:08:26.599-07:00Cardboard Car<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j2weMTGVkrI/Ul6Y1exzm2I/AAAAAAAABWg/1S2nSgqiCB8/s1600/20131010_Cardboard+car+(33+of+34).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j2weMTGVkrI/Ul6Y1exzm2I/AAAAAAAABWg/1S2nSgqiCB8/s640/20131010_Cardboard+car+(33+of+34).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Both my boys were down with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand,_foot_and_mouth_disease">HFMD</a> last week. But I'm happy that other than the few dreadful days of very bad ulcers that's affecting meal times for K, we had been busy creating and learning. It's been a while since we did so many activities. Our no school mornings are spent creating and playing. The activities were all child directed and I became their slaves.<br /><br />On this day...<br /><br />K: Mummy, let's build a cardboard car.<br />Me: (thought bubble: "Let's"?? You mean "me" Nooooo....) Let's do some other things, how about watching the Cars movie? (wrong move)<br />K: I want to build Lightning Mcqueen! Ka Chow!<br />Y: I want to build The King!<br />Me: (thought bubble: Ok, we have cardboards... maybe it's not that difficult to do afterall) Alright, let's see what we need.<br /><br />Their persistence paid off and once I got my butt off from the sofa, we were on the roll.<br /><br /><b>What You Need:</b> <br />Carton Box<br />Paint<br />Brushes <br />Pen Knife<br />Markers<br />White Paper<br />Construction Paper <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-slxbuN8TEHA/Ul6apUABmUI/AAAAAAAABWs/zaupfA2gAaQ/s1600/20131010_Cardboard+car+(5+of+34).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-slxbuN8TEHA/Ul6apUABmUI/AAAAAAAABWs/zaupfA2gAaQ/s640/20131010_Cardboard+car+(5+of+34).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I got 2 carton boxes and cut off 3 sides of the flap for the top, leaving one side for the car front. All 4 flaps at the bottom are removed.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IvZnWxL7MZY/Ul6bJWdERGI/AAAAAAAABW0/1UCVk78hvE0/s1600/20131010_Cardboard+car+(7+of+34).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IvZnWxL7MZY/Ul6bJWdERGI/AAAAAAAABW0/1UCVk78hvE0/s640/20131010_Cardboard+car+(7+of+34).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;&nbsp; Cut a small rectangle at the sides as a handle for the kid to hold.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Raij4AhJDFs/Ul6bjmlGk3I/AAAAAAAABW8/D8LzYE6acXo/s1600/cardboard+car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Raij4AhJDFs/Ul6bjmlGk3I/AAAAAAAABW8/D8LzYE6acXo/s640/cardboard+car.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Then it's time to get the rascals to work.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xo4r_Ev4f5U/Ul6kcxzX_zI/AAAAAAAABXU/WHuFR7c_C1s/s1600/cardboard+car-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xo4r_Ev4f5U/Ul6kcxzX_zI/AAAAAAAABXU/WHuFR7c_C1s/s640/cardboard+car-001.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>I printed out the car number 43 for <a href="http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/The_King_%28Cars%29">The King</a> and got the graphic online for Lightning Mcqueen. Cut them out and paste it at the side.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EyTs08wmXjI/Ul6buAuZZEI/AAAAAAAABXE/LQQYqiWcAeU/s1600/cardboard+car-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EyTs08wmXjI/Ul6buAuZZEI/AAAAAAAABXE/LQQYqiWcAeU/s640/cardboard+car-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>My "designers" had a hard time deciding on the design of their car wheels. They had an even harder time trying to express what they want to me. But we sorted it out in the end and I thought they looked good. I kept the cardboard pieces that I cut out earlier for the wheels. Cut the circles and parts out of construction paper and the boys were responsible for putting them together.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6WpqObY8riw/Ul6k3hNqBsI/AAAAAAAABXc/tCgXh0HubcE/s1600/cardboard+car-003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6WpqObY8riw/Ul6k3hNqBsI/AAAAAAAABXc/tCgXh0HubcE/s640/cardboard+car-003.jpg" width="451" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q30G9t-E2f8/Ul6k6AHRsfI/AAAAAAAABXk/uy-ArNkmTnk/s1600/cardboard+car-004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q30G9t-E2f8/Ul6k6AHRsfI/AAAAAAAABXk/uy-ArNkmTnk/s640/cardboard+car-004.jpg" width="452" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ar3HS-FX8b4/Ul6lHDPDIWI/AAAAAAAABXs/SN_7vz3A4pg/s1600/20131010_Cardboard+car+(33+of+34).jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ar3HS-FX8b4/Ul6lHDPDIWI/AAAAAAAABXs/SN_7vz3A4pg/s400/20131010_Cardboard+car+(33+of+34).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />For the front of the car, I cut a piece of White paper to paste over to draw the eyes. Y wanted a "serious" look. He drew a dinosaur (looked nothing like one) for the <a href="http://pixar.wikia.com/Dinoco">Dinoco</a> sign and we found a Rusteze stickers for Lightning Mcqueen. I drew the eyes and mouth for Y while K drew everything on his own. <br /><br />The boys were so happy with their cars and they wanted to bring to school as their Chinese learning theme is Cars. K asked his teacher for permission to bring to school. She agreed and so I let them drive to school today. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cINt2Jkyi_M/Ul6r1-6nCOI/AAAAAAAABX8/a7TK_zhIg4A/s1600/cardboard+cars.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cINt2Jkyi_M/Ul6r1-6nCOI/AAAAAAAABX8/a7TK_zhIg4A/s640/cardboard+cars.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-91921185858162800812013-10-09T07:43:00.000-07:002013-10-09T07:44:17.341-07:00Pattern Making with Glue and PaintI knew I had to do this when I saw <a href="http://www.housingaforest.com/painting-on-wet-glue/">this beautiful picture</a> on <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/serenel/boards/">Pinterest</a>.<br /><br /><b>What You Need:</b><br />Container Lid<br />Paint or Food Coloring<br />White Glue<br />Toothpicks or Sticks<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NURl7-b_EV0/UlVqGNcJ4EI/AAAAAAAABWQ/Ggp_-X_niog/s1600/20131005_Glue+Paint+Patterns+(1+of+13).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NURl7-b_EV0/UlVqGNcJ4EI/AAAAAAAABWQ/Ggp_-X_niog/s640/20131005_Glue+Paint+Patterns+(1+of+13).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Spread the glue on the lid and drop the paint on the glue. Use toothpicks to draw on the glue, making beautiful pattern. The glue may take 1-2 days to dry thoroughly. Once it dried, peel it off the lid, hang it up or cut it into other shapes. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rXkpuU-2iLQ/UlVpoJkGFII/AAAAAAAABWA/VSSSvyO8z2s/s1600/Glue+P+Patterns1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rXkpuU-2iLQ/UlVpoJkGFII/AAAAAAAABWA/VSSSvyO8z2s/s640/Glue+P+Patterns1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />It's so easy and my boy who is down with HFMD liked it very much. Instead of spreading the paint, he mixed them, making marbled like patterns. I limited him to 3 colors as I knew that any more will just result with a patch of Brown.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-huKulbbsUkU/UlVpp1BkdYI/AAAAAAAABWI/y0g3c0W-e28/s1600/Glue+P+Patterns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-huKulbbsUkU/UlVpp1BkdYI/AAAAAAAABWI/y0g3c0W-e28/s640/Glue+P+Patterns.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He is learning to smile and pose for the camera. Quite unnatural but it's better than his usual face covering pose.</td></tr></tbody></table>Here's his masterpiece. I love it!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7c1M_-rJAvc/UlVpJQpOE-I/AAAAAAAABV4/NpWGdP4Bj4Y/s1600/20131005_Glue+Paint+Patterns+(13+of+13).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7c1M_-rJAvc/UlVpJQpOE-I/AAAAAAAABV4/NpWGdP4Bj4Y/s640/20131005_Glue+Paint+Patterns+(13+of+13).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-79342913730940049912013-10-07T00:50:00.000-07:002015-03-15T00:37:11.974-07:00Best Friends for 10 with Egg Cartons<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rkn7NYVhA9Y/UlAqg9ohsII/AAAAAAAABVo/O2BWPaN2Tns/s1600/egg+carton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rkn7NYVhA9Y/UlAqg9ohsII/AAAAAAAABVo/O2BWPaN2Tns/s640/egg+carton.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a>It's very important for children to understand the number combinations to make 10. I call them <i>Best Friends for 10</i>. Having a good understanding will be beneficial to them when they do bigger number addition problems for Primary level mathematics.<br /><br /><b>What You Need:</b><br />Empty Egg Carton<br />Pom Poms (2 colors)<br /><br />You can use Beans, <a href="http://gratefullygrowingingrace.blogspot.sg/2012/06/making-colored-pasta-again.html">Colored Pasta</a>, etc. In fact, anything. &nbsp; <br /><br />The boys weren't too interested in this activity as they weren't keen on learning Math that day. They knew this is "work" in disguise. But I managed to fool one of them into playing "Raining Pom Poms" They grab a handful of poms poms, throw them into the egg cartons and tata... we have raining pom poms. Sort them out a bit and we can have a 3D&nbsp;<a href="http://www.region10ct.org/math/region10mathsitefaq/What%20is%20a%20Ten%20Frame.pdf">ten frame</a>.<br /><br />I did this activity with my P3 student who is still weak with simple addition and subtraction. I was worried she may find this too "childish" but to my surprise, she enjoyed it. This activity satisfy the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesthetic_learning">Kinesthetic</a> part of learning and allows her to "see" the number combination. <br /><br />Being able to "see" the numbers helps the children to understand better. Once the children understand and know the number combination for 10 very well, addition of bigger numbers will be a breeze. Daily repetitive drilling works too but isn't this much better?<br /><br />Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-16183578424090855912013-10-05T20:06:00.000-07:002013-10-05T20:06:05.517-07:00The Pirate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OwB8Y8_WQas/Uk_viEoY2bI/AAAAAAAABVY/0gjelf9dKYg/s1600/IMG_5180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OwB8Y8_WQas/Uk_viEoY2bI/AAAAAAAABVY/0gjelf9dKYg/s400/IMG_5180.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />During the eye check conducted in school, Y was referred for further examinations. My husband and I were devastated when we knew about it. Outdoor time was our top priority to protect their eyesight. We even changed the lights in our home and are very strict with their screen time.<br /><br />We received both good news and bad news when we went for further review. Good news, he is not short sighted and the bad news, they noticed he has a <a href="http://www.lazyeyesite.org/whatisit.html">Squint</a>. To put it simply, one eye is not looking straight. It's also commonly known as the Lazy Eye. We noticed it since he was very young but we did not know that such condition can be corrected. My heart sank when I read that the corrective measures is most effective before the age of 4.<br /><br />The doctor advised eye patching, that is, to patch the good eye to train the lazy eye to look straight. The patching has to be done daily, for 2 hours a day.<br /><br />I was filled with guilt that I didn't bring him to the doctor earlier but my husband comforted me that there's only so much we could do and we can't know everything. <br /><br />Well, let's just hope this tedious patching can help to correct the Squint.Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-42081298846265714982013-10-05T01:00:00.000-07:002013-10-05T01:03:40.541-07:00Graphing with PreschoolersI had <a href="http://whenyouneverexpecttwo.blogspot.sg/2012/04/math-with-pack-of-erasers.html">introduced graphing with the boys</a> last year when we got a pack of sea animals eraser back from the Underwater World field trip. They are&nbsp;excellent manipulatives for Math activities! Since then, we touched on it through books. Recently, we are learning Subtraction and the concept of "fewer than" stumped them. They could understand "more than" easily but I don't think they truly understood "fewer than" though they know they need to subtract.<br /><br />Today, they came home telling me that they learnt graphing in school and were very excited about it as they recalled a book we read about Graphing.<br /><br />Since I didn't prepare any materials and they couldn't wait, I took out the pack of sea animal erasers again. They remembered what they did before and proceeded to do up the graph on their own. I'm glad to see the great improvement in sorting and they were able to follow instructions to do up their own graph.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eD0Byy9PGVU/Uk_EqJ66URI/AAAAAAAABUs/03gYRHRaVkg/s1600/graphing+pictures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eD0Byy9PGVU/Uk_EqJ66URI/AAAAAAAABUs/03gYRHRaVkg/s640/graphing+pictures.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1w4FqCvOBo8/Uk_HyZ0UOpI/AAAAAAAABVI/XnzYVfrwpEI/s1600/IMG_5393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1w4FqCvOBo8/Uk_HyZ0UOpI/AAAAAAAABVI/XnzYVfrwpEI/s400/IMG_5393.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Y wanted to draw his own graph and he came up with this.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xv0XX1jql4w/Uk_E7siDg3I/AAAAAAAABU0/q3H3apPnpWI/s1600/IMG_5400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xv0XX1jql4w/Uk_E7siDg3I/AAAAAAAABU0/q3H3apPnpWI/s400/IMG_5400.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />K got a little upset that the graph we did is not the same as what his teacher taught. He said I don't listen to his teacher... duh... &nbsp;So I got him to show me what he did in school. He had his own idea of how he wanted to create his graph. He asked for a stencil to draw his sea animals. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tQdNPqS-qls/Uk_FIyx3BxI/AAAAAAAABU8/PNLZPMzPqRw/s1600/IMG_5396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tQdNPqS-qls/Uk_FIyx3BxI/AAAAAAAABU8/PNLZPMzPqRw/s400/IMG_5396.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Graphing is a simple basic Math concept to introduce to young children and can be a lot of fun. <br /><br />Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-68758634381132273162013-07-16T07:41:00.002-07:002013-07-16T07:41:52.906-07:00Life Gets BusierThis blog has been neglected for a while again. It has been extremely challenging to keep up with the blog, along with the busy schedule. It doesn't help when I use whatever time I have left on Korean drama. Hah... But it's really good when you just need brainless stuff to chill out. The last thing I want is to watch an art film or anything too serious.<br /><br />With the boys in K1, it's time for the kiasu primary school volunteering work to start. After several discussions with hubby eversince we got questions on which primary school they are going when they haven't even turn 2, we have decided to opt for the nearest school for convenience.<br /><br />The nearest school turns out to be the most popular neighborhood school in my area. I've decided to volunteer for the school so my boys can have guaranteed entry. I have neighbors staying in my block who didn't manage to get in the school from balloting. But the guaranteed entry don't seem to be happening. Withe the number of volunteers this year and the vacancies, there's a high chance to ballot if all volunteers fulfill the 40 hours requirement.<br /><br />I was totally overwhelmed by the first volunteer meeting. There were many events to volunteer for but there were also many parents. You see a whole list of names for an event that only call for 3 volunteers. I was lucky that I managed to get an event this month. With the fierce competition, I joined the reading programme that I thought nobody will like to take up. (...NOT!) But I had to commit 2 days a week. Just so, I can have some fixed hours every month instead of stressing over the balloting of the events, I went for it.<br /><br />So, yeah... life can only get busier. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br /><br /><br />Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-42151524794924106502013-05-05T07:43:00.002-07:002013-05-05T07:44:05.621-07:00Master of TranslationWe have a "Master of Translation" in the house.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ozaL-PEchlo/UYZs6EqhT-I/AAAAAAAABRY/SI6S3s6zSuo/s1600/DSC_6306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ozaL-PEchlo/UYZs6EqhT-I/AAAAAAAABRY/SI6S3s6zSuo/s400/DSC_6306.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp; 家庭 (family)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">=</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w-Nx0jN4F7g/UYZtsQJAIlI/AAAAAAAABRo/RpWoWeG9uk0/s1600/blog+translation+post1-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w-Nx0jN4F7g/UYZtsQJAIlI/AAAAAAAABRo/RpWoWeG9uk0/s400/blog+translation+post1-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CShA9i3vEQk/UYZtzGvd1II/AAAAAAAABRw/LiD8mBi_pkk/s1600/emp+penguin.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CShA9i3vEQk/UYZtzGvd1II/AAAAAAAABRw/LiD8mBi_pkk/s400/emp+penguin.gif" width="398" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #212121; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 300; line-height: 38px;">帝企鹅 (emperor penguins)</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">=</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DhCh9-mh45w/UYZuB44zSHI/AAAAAAAABR4/NH7ohV_yxxw/s1600/blog+translation+post3-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DhCh9-mh45w/UYZuB44zSHI/AAAAAAAABR4/NH7ohV_yxxw/s400/blog+translation+post3-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>This is the ultimate.. I didn't realize they were making such a direct translation until they explained because they didn't believe me that Jellyfish is&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">水母</span>. lol...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xq9sYQ9AqqE/UYZu__6nSJI/AAAAAAAABSA/rExqJ5mX2gs/s1600/jellyfish.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xq9sYQ9AqqE/UYZu__6nSJI/AAAAAAAABSA/rExqJ5mX2gs/s400/jellyfish.png" width="282" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">JELLYFISH</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">=</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7lGtxPdCMKE/UYZvOySbumI/AAAAAAAABSI/QcgZnfC1_bA/s1600/blog+translation+post2-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7lGtxPdCMKE/UYZvOySbumI/AAAAAAAABSI/QcgZnfC1_bA/s400/blog+translation+post2-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #212121; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 300; line-height: 38px;">果冻鱼!!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><br />Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-25226516540346362142013-05-02T07:17:00.001-07:002013-05-04T05:56:05.976-07:00Are you my real mother?I was reading the fairytale,&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansel_and_Gretel">Hansel and Gretel</a> to the boys and they threw questions at me on why the evil stepmother abandoned her children. Her actions were totally appalling to them. I tried to explain to them what a stepmother is. They were listening intently and suddenly, with a worried look, Y turned to me and asked, <b><i>"are you my real mother?"</i> </b>I can't help laughing at that. Of course I assured him I am his birth mother and I loved them so much that I would never leave them in a forest.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zTwLW_hH2uo/UYJzZTnPBFI/AAAAAAAABQ0/0xW974fbuuM/s1600/maternity+shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zTwLW_hH2uo/UYJzZTnPBFI/AAAAAAAABQ0/0xW974fbuuM/s320/maternity+shot.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>&nbsp;<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v1siY9NWaxU/UYJ08p5ETjI/AAAAAAAABRE/zjRs8s-3Gfw/s1600/birth+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v1siY9NWaxU/UYJ08p5ETjI/AAAAAAAABRE/zjRs8s-3Gfw/s320/birth+photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Anyway, here's the proof my little darlings, I carried that giant watermelon with swollen feet and big nose for 37 weeks. I went in the operating room to be cut open while wide awake to deliver you. There's no doubt that I'm definitely your <i><b>real</b> </i>mother.<br /><br />Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-31897112130180327502013-04-25T05:29:00.000-07:002013-04-25T06:51:49.061-07:00How I got my preschooler to count to 100.The best thing that my boys benefited from their bad sleeping habits or from their battle against sleep is to be able to count up to 100.<br /><br />When they were 3, Y would keep running out of his bed announcing "Mummy, I can't sleep!" To avoid the tears and battle during bedtime, we came up with the "Count to 100" strategy. He would sit on the rocker chair with me and I would rock him as we count to 100. He has to go back to his bed after we count to 100 and may not come out again. He kept to the agreement sometimes, he fell asleep when we haven't even reached 50 sometimes or he would run out several times to count on some days. It started with me counting only, then with him counting after me, then progress to him counting with some help from me when he got stuck. After 2 months, he mastered his counting to 100. Counting to 100 was no longer challenging to him and the strategy didn't work anymore. I wanted to introduce skip counting but I'm happy that he came up with counting backwards himself. K, being a better sleeper who also count lesser is getting quite upset that his brother can count from 100-1 while he can only do 1-100.<br /><br />Learning can take place in the most unconventional way. I would note in Y's growing journal that he mastered counting because he was the worst sleeper in the family. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br /><br />Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-16799262741318544682013-03-16T02:45:00.000-07:002015-09-29T09:06:36.711-07:00Aversion towards BabiesMy boys are suffering from a condition I call, "Baby Aversion". We invited a classmate who had&nbsp; a baby brother over one day. They looked in horror when the baby brother stuffed their favorite police car into his mouth, knocked down their Lego blocks tower and dropped their toys on the floor. At the playground, they screamed when wandering toddlers took their bike for a ride conveniently while they were climbing at the bars. <br /><br />I can't really blame them for that, considering they almost lost one patch of hair when a friendly toddler came over for a chat coupled with hair pulling when we were at Sentosa once. They got beaten and pinched several times at the playground, also from friendly babies.<br /><br />It was hard to get them to understand that the babies were not being mean or obnoxious. On the contrary, they were just overly enthusiastic to make friends with them. They wanted to touch them but do not know how to control their strength. The boys have forgotten they were babies once too and they were like this too. They couldn't believe me when I told them they have done the same too. They have declared "We hate babies! NO babies in the house!" until ....<br /><br /><i>Y: Can we invite S&amp;W(their classmates) to our house to play?</i><br /><i>Me: Yes we can. We will invite the whole family and that includes the baby sister.</i><br /><i>Y&amp;K: BABY??!!!</i><br /><i>Me: Yes.</i><br /><i>Y: Why they have baby?</i><br /><i>K: Can the baby don't come?</i><br /><i>Me: No, we have to invite everyone. The baby is not going to stay home alone.&nbsp;</i><br /><i>Y: But I just want S&amp;W to come.</i><br /><i>Me: That's not going to happen. If you invite the brother, we have to invite the sister.</i><br /><i>K: Never mind. Maybe the baby won't come. I think the baby like to stay home... I think... Maybe... maybe the baby won't come.&nbsp;</i><br /><i>Me: No, the baby WILL come.</i><br /><i>K continues chanting... no... the baby won't come, the baby doesn't like to come...</i><br /><br />After a few incidents at the playground where they were nasty to young babies, screaming when they get close to them.<br /><br /><i>Me: I don't like your behavior towards the babies just now.</i><br /><i>K: I don't like babies, they spoil my toys and they hit me.</i><br /><i>Me: What happens if we have a baby in our family? Are you going to be nasty to the baby too?</i><br /><i>K: Then I will share my toys with the baby. But only baby toys ok? Is it a baby girl or baby boy? I want boy.&nbsp;</i><br /><i>Me: ????</i><br /><br />That reply took me by surprise, so maybe they don't hate babies that much after all. I'm just looking forward to see their reaction when their friend's baby sister come over. They mix around with older cousins who give in to them. I hope they can learn to be tolerant towards younger children just like their older cousins.&nbsp;&nbsp; Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-38818069488270274942013-01-12T00:04:00.001-08:002013-01-12T05:09:50.873-08:00Dec 2012 Vacation in PhuketWe went to Phuket for our Dec vacation with my family. A total of 19 people! It was a great trip with great company, great resort, great weather and great activities. It was simply the GREATEST. BESTEST vacation we ever had.<br /><br />My sister recommended the <a href="http://www.outriggerthailand.com/phuket/">Outrigger Laguna Resort</a>. We were considering the villas but after calculating the cost, they were out of our budget. It's a pity but the apartments suites there were amazing as well. We got a 2 bedroom suite just in case the boys do not want to sleep in the baby playpen and my husband and I are the kind of parents who can't share our beds with our children. At age 3, they want to be BIG boys and will not consider anything that's "babyish" but to our surprise, they were happy to jump into the playpen.<br /><br />We went to <a href="http://www.siamsafari.com/">Siam Safari</a> on the second day. We took the 4 in 1 tour. You get to take the Water Buffalo Cart<i>, </i>see the Rubber Tree Cutting, have an educational lesson on Rice and lastly, an Elephant Ride. This tour is great for educational purpose and the kids enjoyed it.<br /><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-XSwPQr0s5Kg/UPEYrRJxmBI/AAAAAAAABPI/wzlQdroCek8/s1600-h/2012-12-13%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img alt="2012-12-13" border="0" height="418" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-J-iU72lw0hY/UPEYtGTG3sI/AAAAAAAABPM/SlFgpVHkuLo/2012-12-13_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="2012-12-13" width="625" /></a> <br /><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-reXOtpDUeBc/UPEYv2UworI/AAAAAAAABPY/OeIRPsKjths/2012-12-131%25255B9%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800"><img alt="2012-12-131" border="0" height="422" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-gPyb1zX8mqY/UPEY1C6QBPI/AAAAAAAABPg/-2lB15znriY/2012-12-131_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="2012-12-131" width="631" /></a> <br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-WG92m-6yT_8/UPEY3i1rgtI/AAAAAAAABPo/qtYJQNgaurg/s1600-h/2012-12-132%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="2012-12-132" border="0" height="422" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-MIGAia8VVyc/UPEY5fEM0gI/AAAAAAAABPs/H3QBLnSokH4/2012-12-132_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="2012-12-132" width="631" /></a> <br /><br />On the 3rd day, we ventured into the unknown. My sister signed up for a tour where it takes us Phang Na Bay. We didn’t get a lot of details on the tour and we didn’t expect it to be such an adventure. We went Kayaking and Caving!! Our impression of the Kayak was a big wooden boat that someone will be rowing it but we didn’t know it’s a Canoe. With very young children and older folks in our group, we were a little worried initially but my boys just jumped in the Canoe with some whining beforehand that they WILL NOT get on.&nbsp; <br /><br /><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-jKbr4Mwbnk8/UPEY6ozaYKI/AAAAAAAABP0/cBxfxJqVTwo/s1600-h/20121212-15_Phuket%252520%25252835%252520of%25252058%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="20121212-15_Phuket (35 of 58)" border="0" height="486" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-6FMP_t5xtNc/UPEY74n7TsI/AAAAAAAABP8/MqVfBRZq4qY/20121212-15_Phuket%252520%25252835%252520of%25252058%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="20121212-15_Phuket (35 of 58)" width="324" /></a><br /><br />We went to 2 caves, an Oyster Cave and a Bat Cave. The entrance for the Oyster Cave was extremely low and we have to lie down to get in. I was a little worried that my boys may not be able to follow the instruction and get up half way in the cave. Thank god they listened and even told me to lie down when we were getting near the entrance. <br /><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-6mu9wSzSoAo/UPEY91eFJmI/AAAAAAAABQI/bfwx03OxDRY/s1600-h/2012-12-14%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="2012-12-14" border="0" height="417" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-qMtHusyfvkk/UPEY_AvdNYI/AAAAAAAABQM/nCNZv_R2NHY/2012-12-14_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="2012-12-14" width="624" /></a> <br /><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-inUuIFdnm8o/UPEZBbyyCsI/AAAAAAAABQY/c-mgiqXVyhw/s1600-h/20121212-15_Phuket%252520%25252858%252520of%25252058%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="20121212-15_Phuket (58 of 58)" border="0" height="414" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-lCSAZo4xM8s/UPEZC8XXZLI/AAAAAAAABQc/epYHgVtUZ0Y/20121212-15_Phuket%252520%25252858%252520of%25252058%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="20121212-15_Phuket (58 of 58)" width="622" /></a> <br /><br />Phang Na Bay is very scenic but having been to Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, I wasn’t too impressed but enjoyed the leisurely ride. <br /><br />It was a tiring tour and the boys got cranky by evening since they went without a nap and started fussing. They were too tired to take their dinner and my husband and I were trying to placate them and was unable to get any food for ourselves. Thankfully we have my family to help us out. We would have gone hungry the whole day if not for them.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><br />Our 4 days vacation passed in a flash and we went home tired but happy. The boys have been asking to go Phuket again since we came back and I kinda sure we’ll definitely be back. Maybe a villa stay the next time. <br /><br />Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-46499441081514652732012-11-04T19:28:00.004-08:002012-11-04T19:28:57.701-08:00HiatusIt's been a 6 months hiatus. I haven't forgotten this blog but there has been many changes that took place in the family. I was adapting to the new routine with my new work. So, I'll be back with more post and thank you to those who dropped by. :)Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-55890657525882894972012-05-14T06:47:00.000-07:002012-05-14T06:47:23.582-07:00Revamped Bishan ParkWe have been wanting to visit the new Bishan park. We brought our Striders (balancing bike) and had a great time there. The slopes in the park is very suitable for the bike and the boys just cruise around while we chased behind. Y went so fast that K and I couldn't catch up and we lost each other.<br /><br />Getting ready for the ride. Got knee guards for them but it seem to restrict their movements so we still took them off in the end. <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RlOKWzlNbnQ/T7ECYao9R_I/AAAAAAAABN4/z42h5rZpqyM/s1600/20120421_Bishan+Park+%281+of+8%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RlOKWzlNbnQ/T7ECYao9R_I/AAAAAAAABN4/z42h5rZpqyM/s400/20120421_Bishan+Park+%281+of+8%29.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VuFb49c176Q/T7ECfl8wNKI/AAAAAAAABOA/xu0YbjeYSJw/s1600/20120421_Bishan+Park+%282+of+8%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VuFb49c176Q/T7ECfl8wNKI/AAAAAAAABOA/xu0YbjeYSJw/s400/20120421_Bishan+Park+%282+of+8%29.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br />The river. We saw people fishing there. Seems quite fun but the boys were not keen to go down the river, maybe next time. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OGOwAqi8m-Y/T7ECojDeTWI/AAAAAAAABOI/KsnDWwoQJB8/s1600/20120421_Bishan+Park+%283+of+8%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OGOwAqi8m-Y/T7ECojDeTWI/AAAAAAAABOI/KsnDWwoQJB8/s400/20120421_Bishan+Park+%283+of+8%29.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Nice chair for people to laze. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xbge678dNHM/T7ECyW_-TwI/AAAAAAAABOQ/Vr8qk3yQrNo/s1600/20120421_Bishan+Park+%284+of+8%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xbge678dNHM/T7ECyW_-TwI/AAAAAAAABOQ/Vr8qk3yQrNo/s400/20120421_Bishan+Park+%284+of+8%29.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br />Hungry and thirsty? The yellow M is there to save your day but be prepared for a long queue.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-adeRlwf7BZE/T7EC6p0CZBI/AAAAAAAABOY/cGmBGwHG6ak/s1600/20120421_Bishan+Park+%285+of+8%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-adeRlwf7BZE/T7EC6p0CZBI/AAAAAAAABOY/cGmBGwHG6ak/s400/20120421_Bishan+Park+%285+of+8%29.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />There's a playground with sand and the boys made themselves at home. Took their shoes off and made some friends there. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--eZf7IdzonI/T7EDAem38oI/AAAAAAAABOg/rIpD0M9aAg8/s1600/20120421_Bishan+Park+%286+of+8%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--eZf7IdzonI/T7EDAem38oI/AAAAAAAABOg/rIpD0M9aAg8/s400/20120421_Bishan+Park+%286+of+8%29.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CtKdNfLJjBw/T7EDGtBE9CI/AAAAAAAABOo/pF09YzX-eT8/s1600/20120421_Bishan+Park+%287+of+8%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CtKdNfLJjBw/T7EDGtBE9CI/AAAAAAAABOo/pF09YzX-eT8/s400/20120421_Bishan+Park+%287+of+8%29.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Junction 8 is just a short ride away. Perfect place to have our dinner. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yp7rC3ZY6AU/T7EDPRyvjDI/AAAAAAAABOw/aC_bTtZEPac/s1600/20120421_Bishan+Park+%288+of+8%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yp7rC3ZY6AU/T7EDPRyvjDI/AAAAAAAABOw/aC_bTtZEPac/s400/20120421_Bishan+Park+%288+of+8%29.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />We enjoyed the park very much and love the space there for biking. It's crowded but not as crowded for East Coast Park. We only explored one park of the park, will explore the other side the next time round.Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-35144671845370643102012-05-13T20:55:00.003-07:002012-05-13T20:57:36.609-07:00Chinese Learning: My Family 我的家人It's still really hard to gain their interest in Chinese. It can be very disheartening when they reject the activities I planned for them once they see the materials in Chinese. Many times, I wanted to give up and just enrol them in a Chinese enrichment class. But my husband has been encouraging me to keep on trying and we are holding off the classes. <br /><div><br /></div><div>To look on a bright side, from totally not speaking Mandarin to being able to converse in Mandarin now, it's an improvement. Another improvement is accepting Chinese books. They are able to sit through long Chinese stories now. Come to think of it, I was still feeling very down and was complaining to my husband few weeks back when they refused to accept any Chinese books during story time. Thinking through, I think it's because I'm more fluent when I read in English. So, I picked out a more interesting book that I think they will like and practice reading it a few times before reading to them. It helped greatly. The story engaged them and they were more willing to accept other books from the same series. &nbsp; &nbsp; <br /><br />They are showing interest in reading but only English words. They will spell the words and ask me how to read the word. I'm hoping they can show the same interest in Chinese words and was trying to do more words recognition in Chinese with them. For this purpose, I have prepared some activities with the theme, My family, 我的家人 in mind.&nbsp; I wouldn't say it's very successful as Y refused to participate in most of the activities.<br /><br /><u><b>Family Tree</b></u> <br />First, I did a family tree to illustrate to them the relationship between each people.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cLVzxKn3eyU/T7B9qW_EsiI/AAAAAAAABNE/4qL1dNVix9g/s1600/DSC_8126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cLVzxKn3eyU/T7B9qW_EsiI/AAAAAAAABNE/4qL1dNVix9g/s400/DSC_8126.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><u><b>Make Your Flashcards</b></u> <br />Then I printed some photos of our family members and let them make a set of flashcards.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XJL_QoTlc_A/T7B964OFVWI/AAAAAAAABNM/qbND5H1juFg/s1600/2012-05-008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XJL_QoTlc_A/T7B964OFVWI/AAAAAAAABNM/qbND5H1juFg/s400/2012-05-008.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><b>Matching Game</b> <br />A matching game where we have pictures of family members on one side and words on the other side attached with velcro.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0B1YEJdX2FE/T7B-JUkJrbI/AAAAAAAABNU/WfJdPrFSgz4/s1600/DSC_8115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0B1YEJdX2FE/T7B-JUkJrbI/AAAAAAAABNU/WfJdPrFSgz4/s400/DSC_8115.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D3FV8irDxQU/T7B-aSU9cpI/AAAAAAAABNc/aCwuFgZH7hY/s1600/2012-05-07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><u><b>Hoola Word Game</b></u> <br />Another word game we played with <a href="http://www.hasbro.com/games/en_US/shop/details.cfm?R=679ABD38-19B9-F369-109C-4B51E96EE75F:en_US">Twister Hoola Game</a>. Got this from the Toy r'us clearance sale at $16 with very badly damaged packaging.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-15V1Am-PE6s/T7B_BkoHukI/AAAAAAAABNk/yAtUZOlhfgw/s1600/2012-05-07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-15V1Am-PE6s/T7B_BkoHukI/AAAAAAAABNk/yAtUZOlhfgw/s640/2012-05-07.JPG" width="425" /></a></div>I don't know how much learning is done but there's sure a lot of laughter there. I almost got mad at Y for being the trouble maker but decided to take it easy. He didn't want to participate as he didn't want Chinese and kept distracting K.<br /><br />This is how I play the game<br /><br />(1) Put the word card on the floor and get the child to read, after he read, let him place the hoola over it.<br /><br />(2) After placing all the word cards, say a word and the child find and stand on the word.<br /><br /><i>Didn't work with Y as he started taking away the hoola and putting it over his head. K thought that's super funny and joined in. Since it didn't work, I changed the game. </i><br /><i>&nbsp;</i> <br />(3) Collect the hoola - Get the child to read the word, if he can read correctly, he collects a hoola and he can put it over his head.<br /><br /><u><b>Paper Plate Bingo</b></u> <br />Got this paper plate game idea from <a href="http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2012/04/learning-letters-on-the-go.html">No Time for Flashcards</a>. Write the words on the paper plate, cut it and the child fold the correct word down when you call it out. So far, only managed to do this with K, my "I don't want Chinese" Y ran off once he saw the Chinese words. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xJPBvKJXiog/T7CAqPa6fRI/AAAAAAAABNs/ybkOHW64o8E/s1600/DSC_8127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xJPBvKJXiog/T7CAqPa6fRI/AAAAAAAABNs/ybkOHW64o8E/s400/DSC_8127.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;I have no idea why Y rejects Chinese so badly but I'm starting to hear him communicating in Mandarin. So, hopefully he can accept it more readily as he build up his confidence in the language.<br /></div>Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044836644492788024.post-42467333948611479772012-05-13T20:16:00.003-07:002012-05-13T21:06:12.201-07:00Happy FoodMy husband and I are quite strict with junk. For the first 2 years of their life, we were able to trick them into thinking that sweets are to hold when they come back with sweets that they managed to charm some aunties into giving. But once they enter school, it's getting hard with bags of sweets every month from birthday celebrations. Seeing their friends popping the candies, the "just hold it" trick don't work any more. So, when they bring back the goody bags, I will let them choose 1 item from it.<br /><br />Y fell in love with lollipop. Just see how happy he was eating it and sharing it with his brother. I finally understand why sweets are <i><span style="color: black;">happy food</span></i>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yzhyrnoG-08/T7B4TEfZAjI/AAAAAAAABMw/GVpnE7kK85g/s1600/hap+food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yzhyrnoG-08/T7B4TEfZAjI/AAAAAAAABMw/GVpnE7kK85g/s640/hap+food.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-97JH1gZ_doI/T7B4UnGeEUI/AAAAAAAABM4/Fow_ADKVVjM/s1600/hap+food1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-97JH1gZ_doI/T7B4UnGeEUI/AAAAAAAABM4/Fow_ADKVVjM/s640/hap+food1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>Renelikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981665721243634822noreply@blogger.com0